SC junks petition to nullify Ombudsman ruling dismissing Aquino homicide raps over Mamasapano massacre
Credit to Author: The Manila Times| Date: Tue, 03 Sep 2019 08:42:45 +0000
THE Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday junked a petition to reverse an Ombudsman ruling that dismissed homicide charges
against former president Benigno Aquino 3rd and several others in connection with the deaths of 44 police commandos during an anti-terrorist operation in Mamasapano in 2015.
The family of the victims asked the high tribunal to set aside the Ombudsman’s ruling on the criminal liability of Aquino.
In en banc deliberations, the high court voted 15-0 in that there was no grave abuse on the part of then Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales when she dismissed the complaint for charges of reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicide against Aquino, Gen. Alan LM. Purisima, former chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP); and former Special Action Force (SAF) head Getulio P. Napeñas.
“The Court, voting unanimously (15-0), dismissed the petition for certiorari filed under Rule 65 of the Rules of Court. The Court held that the Ombudsman did not commit grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction
in dismissing the complaints for 44 counts of reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicide filed against private respondents,” the court ruled.
“Wherefore, the petition is dismissed. The Ombudsman’s Consolidated Resolution dated June 13, 2017 and Consolidated Order dated September 5, 2017 issued in OMB-C-C-16-0419, OMB-C-C-16-0435, and OMB-C-C-16-0448 are affirmed insofar as they found no probable cause to charge private respondents Benigno Simeon C. Aquino 3rd, Alan LM. Purisima, and Getulio P. Napeñas with reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicide.”
The Supreme Court said, however, that its ruling was without prejudice to the findings of incumbent Ombudsman Samuel Martires who may file a new case against Aquino at the Sandiganbayan.
The Sandiganbayan 4th Division granted Martires’ petition to allow his office to withdraw the Information for the Crime of Usurpation of Authority, which Morales had filed.
The anti-graft court issued its ruling after the high court lifted its Status Quo Ante Order (SQAO) that paved the way for the withdrawal of the Information.
In the current case before the Supreme Court, the petition for certiorari was filed by Felicitas Nacino, mother of Police Officer 2 Nicky Nacino Jr., and Helen Ramacula, mother of PO2 Rodel Ramacula.
They asked for a reversal of the the ruling of then Ombudsman Morales, which indicted Aquino, Purisima and Napeñas Jr on lesser charges.
Named respondents were Morales, Aquino, Purisima and Napeñas.
The petitioners also asked the Ombudsman to file reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicide cases in court against Aquino, Purisima and Napeñas.
“In sending the PNP-SAF to a high risk mission based on an operational plan that the Senate Report [on Mamasapano probe] aptly summed up as ‘poorly planned and executed’, ‘intentionally broke the chain of command’, ‘was not followed in detail’, ‘badly coordinated’ and with ‘badges of failure from the very start’ herein respondents set into motion the chain of events that eventually led to the untimely death of the SAF 44,” the document read.
President Rodrigo Duterte had said the Ombudsman was “silly” for the “slap on the wrist charges” against Aquino, the purpose of which was to file a weak case to clear him soon.
“[B]ased on the prevailing circumstances in this case, ‘shooting by hostile forces’ cannot be deemed as an efficient intervening event that broke the chain of events caused by respondents’ negligent acts considering that such external act ought to reasonably to have been foreseen in the planning of ‘Oplan: Exodus,’” it added.
In the encounter, Aquino consulted Purisima about the execution of Oplan Exodus, the operation against Malaysian bomb maker Zulkifli Bin-hir alias Marwan and Filipino bandit leader Basit Usman on Jan. 25, 2015.
The operation neutralized Marwan but also resulted in an encounter between the police commandos and members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).
Aside from the 44 SAF troopers, 18 Moro fighters and five civilians also died in the encounter. JOMAR CANLAS